The 54th Annual Drama Desk Awards were held on Sunday, May 17, 2009 in the LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center. Drama Desk nominees received their official Nomination Certificates at a cocktail reception on Friday, May 1st at Il Bastardo restaurant, 191 Seventh Avenue (between 21st and 22nd Streets).
Multiple Drama Desk and Tony Award winning actor/writer Harvey Fierstein was host for the 54th Annual Drama Desk Awards ceremony. BroadwayWorld's cameras were there for the celebrity filled event!
The Drama Desk was founded in 1949 to explore key issues in the theater and to bring together critics and writers in an organization to support the ongoing development of theater in New York. The organization began presenting its awards in 1955, and it is the only critics organization to honor achievement in the theater with competition between Broadway, Off- Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions in the same categories.
The organization hosts panels throughout the year, to which the public is invited, to promote understanding and appreciation of the professional theater. In addition to honoring creative artists and stage productions in multiple categories, the Drama Desk annually presents scholarships to two worthy seniors in the Drama Department of the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts who are planning careers in the theater.
Photos by Linda Lenzi

Stephanie J. Block

Stephanie J. Block and Sebastian Arcelus

Stephanie J. Block and Sebastian Arcelus

Kara Vedder and David McCoy

Alex Lacamoire and guest

Jessica Goldyn and Tony Yazbeck

Jessica Goldyn and Tony Yazbeck

Neil Pepe, Mary McCann and Jeffory Lawson

Cheyenne Jackson and Jane Fonda

Cheyenne Jackson and Jane Fonda

Julie Dale and Jim Dale

Victor Garber

Jeanine Tesori and Jason Moore

Matt Sax

Martha Plimpton and guest

Martha Plimpton and guest

Geoffrey Rush and AndRea Martin

Geoffrey Rush and AndRea Martin

Philip George, John Freedson, William Selby, Gerard Alessandrini, Michael West, Christina Bianco, James Donegan, and Gina Kreiezmar

Marcia Gay Harden and Thaddaeus Scheel

Marcia Gay Harden and Thaddaeus Scheel

Rex Reed, Bill Kapfer and Carson Kressley

Janet McTeer and Phyllida Lloyd

Tiger Martina, Liza Minnelli, Johnny Rogers and Jim Caruso

Tiger Martina, Liza Minnelli, Johnny Rogers and Jim Caruso

Tiger Martina, Liza Minnelli, Johnny Rogers and Jim Caruso

Tiger Martina, Liza Minnelli and Johnny Rogers

Tiger Martina and Liza Minnelli

Janine Nina Trevens, Jim Colleran, Amy Fiore and Joanna Greer

Stockard Channing and Matthew Risch

Stockard Channing and Matthew Risch

Pete Sanders and Cheyenne Jackson
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